


Keep It Together

by DesertLily



Series: A Law Student In Metropolis [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Comics
Genre: Cuddling, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, breakdown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: Tiff gets overwhelmed. Steph is a good friend.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown & Original Character(s)
Series: A Law Student In Metropolis [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085213
Kudos: 6
Collections: The GUG Cinematic Universe





	Keep It Together

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to Tiff, Never Tiffany. Check out Tiff's blog (tiff-the-tumbler) !

Tiff would be lying if she said she wasn’t on the verge of an absolute breakdown. Everything simply felt...wrong and she was ready to just self-destruct. Her world had crumbled around her. She had fallen down a rabbit hole but, unlike with Alice, it seemed to have no ending. She just kept spiralling further down into a pit of darkness. Her reality had been destroyed; the false identity she had built for herself was gone forever. The mask of Tiff Constance Stoll had been ripped off forever and honestly? She wasn’t entirely sure who was left. Everything that she had stood for seemed to have been destroyed. Despite her best efforts, her parents had found out she was a lesbian. Despite her small online crusade against him, Bruce Wayne had opened his home to her. It felt wrong - like some strange dream that Tiff was still begging herself to wake up from. But deep at the back of her mind, she knew this wasn’t a dream. Not really. This was her reality now and God, she had no idea how to live it. 

She had all but locked herself in the room given to her at Wayne manor. There was a desperation for her to be alone; for her to refuse to acknowledge the pity she knew would be on the faces of anyone that saw her. She didn’t want their pity. She wanted to go  _ home _ . Home. Did she even have a home anymore? They say ‘home is where the heart is’ but Tiff’s heart felt as if it had shattered into a million pieces. In one day, her life had become a jigsaw puzzle where everything refused to fit together. Nothing felt normal anymore and she doubted she would ever get back to her old sense of normality again. Practically everyone she knew had been blowing up her phone; asking if she was okay or saying they were there for her or even offering her a place to stay. For most of them, she couldn’t bring herself to answer them. Tiff was drained entirely of emotion and energy. Replying to everyone felt like a Herculean task. So she simply...didn’t. But there were four chats she found herself going back to. Steph, Brad, Tim Drake, and Bruce Wayne. The first two were obvious; they were her best friends! The last two were more...complicated. Tim wasn’t as terrible as she had expected him to be; even talking to her as if they were almost-friends (rather than someone who had un-affectionately referred to him as an ‘ugly duckling’ online). Her conversation with Bruce Wayne dripped with tension. She had built up this idea in her head that was practically the devil in disguise. The reality however was that he was close to being the opposite. He was a good person. Well, as good of a person as a billionaire could be. He had offered a home when she didn’t have one and Tiff knew she would always be thankful for that. She may have been stubborn, but she wasn’t stubborn enough to ignore help when she needed it. 

That wasn’t to say she instantly put on a happy face and acted as if all was right in the world! It wasn’t. Nothing in her world felt right. All her emotions were bubbling beneath the surface, begging to be let out. But she knew what letting them out would mean. A full breakdown. An acknowledgement that everything was terrible. Hell, she had already refused an offer of eating dinner with the Waynes. Her stomach was already in knots and she suspected eating would only make it feel so much worse. Instead, she simply curled up on the bed given to her and wrapped her arms tightly around herself in a poor attempt at comfort; a poor attempt in assuring herself nothing in the world was wrong; that somehow she would be strong enough to be okay. Then she found herself picking up her phone, barely acknowledging her own actions as she did as she started texting Steph. Stephanie Brown was the friend she had never realised she needed. Excluding Brad, there had never been someone she clicked with so easily; that she could gift the status of ‘best friend’ too after a mere few days of knowing her. There was a comfort that came with talking to Steph; she gave her logic when her mind was a mess. She was one of the few things keeping Tiff grounded. Before she knew it, Tiff found herself asking her for a hug the next time they saw each other. Her best friend was quick to agree. What Tiff hadn’t expected was Stephanie turning up a mere ten minutes later, carrying a bundle of blankets. “S-Steph.” Tiff winced as her voice cracked. She hated how vulnerable it made her sound. 

“Hey, Tiff.” Her voice was soft as she moved to sit on the edge of her bed; as if she was hesitant of so much as talking to Tiff. Tiff hesitated before reaching for her friend’s hand. She was doing her best to act as if she was okay. Even though she knew Stephanie wasn’t buying it for a second. “I..uh...I brought some blankets? I know it can get pretty cold here. Besides, everything’s a little..boring in the guest rooms. B tends to keep the design in them plain and ‘traditional;’ So..fun blankets!” With that she held one up with a Green Lantern logo on it. Tiff’s lips twitched up slightly at that into an almost-smile. “I’d ask how you’re doing but I think that’s a stupid question?” Tiff shrugged slightly. “...You still want that hug?” She hesitated before nodding. Stephanie smiled at that. “Budge up slightly?” Tiff shuffled down the bed to make room for her friend. The second Steph’s arms were around her, everything Tiff was holding back came rushing forward like a tidal wave. She broke down entirely, clinging to Stephanie like a lifeline. “It’s okay.” If anything, Stephanie’s words made Tiff cry harder. 

Eventually, the crying simmered down to quiet whimpers but Steph never acted upset or bothered by it. Instead Stephanie had just rubbed her back, assuring her that everything would be okay. It didn’t take long for her to begin to fall asleep, clinging to one of the few people she knew she could trust. 

**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? Comments are always appreciated or hmu @ desert-lily / growingupgotham on tumblr!


End file.
